Improvement in machines foe geinding the cutters of harvesters



H. WHITALL. MACHINE FOR GRINDING CUTTER-SOP HARVESTERS.

No. 64,817. Patented May 14, 1867.

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'13 ENRY WHlTALL, or- W oonBUR-r, NEW: JERSEY Letters Patent No. 64,817,daterl'M'ay T4, 186?. l

IMPROVEMENT IN ll/IAGH IliIzlS FOR GRINDING THE GUTTI 'ERS OP HARVESTEBS.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.

Be it known that I, HENRY WIIITALL, of Vt'oodbury, New Jersey, haveinvented an improved Machine for Grinding the Gutters of Harvesters andI do hereby declare that the following-is-a full and exact descriptionthereof. I I W The object of my invention is to provide a small, cheap,portable machine for grinding the cutters of harvesters and mowingmachines, which may be easily carried by hand into the field by theoperator of the mowing and reaping machine, and which may be readilyapplied to the same to grind thecutters' without taking them out of themachines The only means now in use for sharpening such cutters is. thecommon grindstone: When they become dull the cutter-bar must ,bedisconnected. from the connecting-rod of the machine andbe withdrawnfrom its position therein, or, as is doue'in some cases, the cutters aredetached from the bars by removing their screws. They are then carriedfrom the field to the house,;or where the grindstone is to he found,upon which they are ground in the ordinary manner of grinding tools byhand, which commonly requires the labor of two persons, one to hold themon, the other-to turn the stone, 0. very tiresome, tedious, andtime-losing practice. It is also quite diflicult to grind them truly inthis manner, as few such grindstones are provided with rests orgauges todetermine the proper relative inclination of the bevelled edge of thecutter to'theface of the stone, without which it is extremely difficultto do the. work well. In consequence of these difficulties in the way ofproperly and readily sharpening the cutters they are generally allowedto run until they get very dull, causing much greater labor for thehorses, and doing the work in-a much less satisfactory manner.

Now-,niy invention is intended to overcome thcse diificultics, and isarranged so it may be applied to any machine, at any time when the,cutters have become-dull, (or when it is desirable to let the horsesstop a short time for, rest,-) in such amanner that the edges of.thecutter may be ground uniformly upon the same angle without any materialvariation, and-requiring only one person to do it without loss of timein removing the cutters from the machine. 1

The principal features of my invention arev First. Arranging the stoneorvulcanite wheel'upon a sliding frame that shall be'made' to traverseback and forth from front to rear of the cutters in line with and at thesame time that the peripheryof the stone is made to-rcvolvc against thecutting edge. v v 2 Second. Arranging the mandrel ofthe stone upon thesaid sliding-frame at such an. angle that when in working position itshall be in a verticahplancparallel with the cutter-bar. 1 Y i I Third.Arranging the support of the said sliding frame upon an axis upon whichit mayoscillate sons to present the stone to either edge of the cutter,and providing' 'foradiusting thesame so that the face of the stone shallbe parallel with the bevellededge of the cutter. 4 7

Fourth. Arranging the horizontal support of the oscillating frame uponits vertical supports in' such a manner that the sliding frame may beadjusted so as to movein a line parallel with either edgeof the cutter,and also in a horizontal plane parallel with the surface of the cutter.V

Fifth. The arrangement of a clamp whereby the grindingmachine isreadily-clamped securely to the ground and to the harvester or mowingmachine when the cutters are to be ground.

Having thus generally described the nature and object of my invention, Iwill now proceed to describe more particularly the construction andoperation of the-same fference being h to the pa y g draw; ing, inwhichi I Figure 1 represents. a perspective view of my machine inposition to grind thecutters on one edge with the cutter-bar in theharvester ready for use. I

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the clamp.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of one of the sleeves 0, showing theannular groove 7:.

Figure 4 is a section of one of the sleeves and posts, showing thescrewf and nut 2'.

A and A are base-plates to which the hollow slotted posts B and B aresecured. C and C are sleeves made to slide vertically on the said postsby means of screws f and nuts 2'. The nuts project through slots in theposts and into annular grooves k in the sleeves C, or in place of thescrews f and nuts 2' the sleeves may be adjusted by hand and secured byset-screws Z 1. Each sleeve has a projection extending horizontally fromone side. I) is a bent support or frame jointed at each end 'to one ofthe sleeves by means of said projections. E is an oscillating framepivoted by screws a and a to the support D. F is a sliding frame towhich the shafts g and h are secured by journal boxes 6 and Z1 and c andc. I is a long screw secured at bot-h ends to the oscillating frame E. jis a worm on shaft g, which communicates motion to a werm-wheel-(n0tseen) which revolves in and is secured to nut J on sliding frame F. Thesaid worm-wheel has a screw hole through its centre, through which thescrew I passes. G and H are gears to communicate'motion to shaft ii. Mis the stone or vulcanitewheel arranged upon the sliding frame at suchan angle us will cause the sides of the stone to stand in a line atright angles with the cutter-bar of the mowing machine. L is a plateprojecting downward from the front end of the main support D, having acurved slot, 1):. K is a set-screw passing through the slot m, andscrewing into a boss upon the cross-bar of the oscillating frame E. we 0and e represent the fingers'ot' a mowing machine. d d d and 01 representthe cutters of the same. P represents a clump, of which 12 is a ,leverhaving aehain, attached to its short arm, and another chain, .9,attached 16 its long arm, and i fulcrum supported in the grooves in thestock of the clamp adjacent to the mortise.

The operation is as followsi The cutter-bar having been adjusted so thateach one of the edges of all the cutters upon the same side is presentedabout midway of the spaces between the fingers, the base-plate A is thenplaced upon the ground in from. of the ruttcr-barand parallel with it.The base-plate A is placed in a similar manner upon the machine directlyin rear of the cutters. They are then adjusted so that the oscillatingframe will stand in a line parallel with theedge of the cutter which isto be ground. The clamp P is then placed .with one foot upon base-plateA, and the other on plate A" in such a position that the hook q may besecured to one of the fingers when thelongarm of the lever is drawn downby the chain a, and secured to a pin in the beam of the said clamp withsuflicient force to secure the base-plates A and A firmly in theirplaces. The oscillating frame'E is then adjusted upon its axis so thatthe face of the stone on the under side is parallel with the bevellededge of the cutter. The said frame is secured in this position bytightening up set-screw k. The sleeves C and C are then adjusted by thescrews f or the set-screw Z, so that the sliding frame and oscillatingframe are brought to a position parallel with the surface of the cutter,and at the same time the stone is made to bear on the cutter withsuiiicient force to perform the grinding of the same, when the operator,by applying motion to the crank on shaft ,7 will cause the stone M torotate and move in one direction until it has reached one end of theeutters edge, then by turning the crank in the opposite direction thestone will also traverse in an opposite direction, this operation beingrepeated until the cutter is sufiiciently sharpened. The clamp is thenreleased, and the machine adjusted to the corresponding edge of the nextcutter, and the same operation is repeated until all the cutters aresharpened upon one edge. The cutter-bar is then adjusted so that theopposite edges of the cutters are in the proper position between thefingers, and the base-plates A and A are placed so as to adjust thesides of the oscillating framev in a line parallel with the edgesoppcsite to those already'ground, when, the set-screw K being loosened,the oscillating. frame E is turned a half revolution on its axis, whichwill bring the grindstonc in the same positionrelatively to the ungroundedges of the cutters. The operation is then proceeded with in the samemanner as above described. In consequence of the faces of the stonebeing presented to the cutters at right angles to the cutter-bar, thestone ill work closely into the angle between the cutters where theycome together. I

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. .A portable machine adapted to grindthe cutters of mowing and reaping machines, when arranged and operatingsubstantially in the manner described 2. In combination with a machineconstructed substantially as described, I claim the clamp P whenarranged for joint action with the said machine as and for the purposedescribed.

In testimony whereof I do hereby subscribe my name this twentieth day ofFebruary, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.

HENRY WHI'IALL.

Witnesses;

Emu. F. BROWN, 0. Bssroa.

